The New Town authorities will acquire tow trucks and deploy them at busy intersections in all three action areas of the township to ensure that vehicles that are stranded after meeting with an accident or for some other reasons are removed quickly, officials said.
A recent joint survey by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) and police revealed that it was taking time to remove vehicles hit by a breakdown or those that have been stranded after being involved in an accident because tow trucks have to be requisitioned from other agencies.
“The requisitioned tow trucks take a long time to reach New Town. The findings of the survey prompted the NKDA to decide to have its own trucks,” said an NKDA official.
The official said a tow truck usually takes 30 minutes to reach New Town after being requisitioned. The delay results in traffic snarls.
“We want to deploy a tow truck at every traffic intersection and strategic location across New Town so that we have a faster response time,” the official said.
The recovery vehicles, he said, will be stationed at the New Town bus stand, Kolkata Gate intersection, Akankha More and in front of City Centre II, among other places.
An agency experienced in operating tow trucks will be engaged to provide the service.
“We have floated a tender to hire an agency to provide tow trucks. The vehicles are likely to be on the roads in a couple of months,” the official said.
An officer of the Bidhannagar police commissionerate said the 10.5km-long Major Arterial Road (MAR), which cuts across New Town and connects the township with Salt Lake and the airport, witnesses heavy vehicular load every day.
During rush hours thousands of vehicles enter and leave New Town every day, mostly through MAR, as many offices and commercial buildings are located in the township.
“We have observed that whenever vehicles break down on MAR, it takes a long time for us to arrange a tow truck from an agency and remove the affected vehicle. The delay triggers traffic snarls,” the officer said.
